SleekHeels

Love the boots and the whole outfit (except maybe brown gloves would be nicer).

That's a super skirt, great work freestyle75 !

Thanks for flagging the story kneehighs, I had no idea this was happening.

For me reading "No more will there be separate departments for women's clothes and men's clothes, usually on separate floors. Instead, unisex shopping is in" only implied that the department is unisex and not necessarily the clothes.

I couldn't get the Times article to load, but reading similar articles from other online newspapers, apparently:

• it's a temporary thing (for six weeks starting from March 12 at Oxford Street, Birmingham and Manchester stores and online)
• the focus is actually very much on unisex and gender-neutral clothing, although it is largely driven by "a huge surge in women buying menswear" (but also "men have also been picking up women's knitwear for themselves").

http://metro.co.uk/2015/01/28/selfridges-is-introducing-a-unisex-shopping-concept-5039128/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2924474/Selfridges-goes-unisex-Oxford-Street-department-store-stock-gender-neutral-fashion-ranges-men-women.html

I agree it's a step in the right direction, and while I suspect the predominant public opinion will be dismissive and cling desperately to conditioned stereotypes, the fact that the open-minded people are now seen as significant enough to be commercially viable, albeit still a minority, is still a positive reflection of changes for the better in social attitudes.

My only reservation is that all this gender-neutral clothing is predominantly a masculinized reflection of society's stigma towards femininity, so while I'll still be shopping in women's departments, guys who are hoping for pretty styles in larger sizes may well be disappointed.

I usually keep my nails longish too, maybe 4-5 mm, and occasionally paint them either a pale bronze or pale pink, or sometimes a stronger shade of medium to dark red (and once even sparkly royal blue which was fun). The colour definitely reveals any irregularities so it's essential to maintain the shape. I'm sure the salon experience would be fun, but I've always felt it's more fun to do it myself and save the money to spend on heels. It really changes how you do things too.... after a few mishaps you learn not to rummage around in your purse for coins, and certainly to avoid ring-pull soda cans. I usually apply 4 thin coats: a clear base coat, two colour coats, then a clear top coat. I find that's a lot more resilient than just a single colour coat (but a little more effort to remove). Go for it Jeff, I'm sure it'll add an exciting new dimension to your fashion experience.

For a while now it's always been a non-issue for me with strangers, but this was the first time I bumped into someone I knew and it really surprised me (pleasantly) how much of a non-issue it was. Thanks for the responses, I'm glad that this seems to be unanimous, as one of the top concerns for reluctant newbies is "what if I bump into someone I know?".

Smile

Well it had to happen some time. I mostly wear my heels at fairly busy public places usually among strangers, this time at a cafe, and I bumped into someone I knew from work from a few years ago. I was wearing my black suedette strappy peeptoes (with black opaque tights, a red bodycon miniskirt and black turtleneck top). I'd always imagined that if I bumped into someone it would be a major panic, but it was a totaly calm situation. We bought coffees and sat down and chatted for a while, completely naturally without any reference to how I was dressed, no suppressed giggles or strange glances. It's not like we avoided bringing up the topic (of course we were both aware of it), it was just a non-issue and we had other things to chat about.

Sorry if you guys wanted some adrenaline-filled rollercoaster ride of a story, I guess it doesn't always happen that way.

So, when you've worn your heels and bump into someone you know (who doesn't know about your heeling), was the experience like you expected it to be?

I was wearing one of my favourite skirts, black and white aztec pattern bodycon 4" above the knee, with a black turtleneck top, plain black opaque tights and black patent courts. A young lady walked up to me and asked me where I bought the skirt, I told her (and mentioned that's it's from last year's range and not available any more), she said "it's really nice!" and I thanked her. It was so nice just to have a normal conversation with someone who likes fashion.

I'm not sure I'd want to walk very far in them, but they look amazingly fun to try, very cool for a hot summer day.

Dr Shoe, I agree, it's a shame to throw away a nice pair of heels if there's some way to repair them with a little effort.

TBG, I didn't think of adding other strips to match everything up, but I did wonder about cutting a larger piece that looked more like a part of the shoe by design. I figured I'd try the small strip first just to see how well the repair holds up before trying a bigger job.

I think this particular pair of shoes is way too busy with the straps for any contrasting colour, but it would be fun to try some embellishment to add a colour accent detail to a very plain pair of courts.

I used to feel like that too the first year I started wearing my heels in public, but during my second summer I started with flat strappy sandals and gradually progressed, and now I'll happily wear strappy sandals with heels just as high as my other shoes and boots. In some ways it's easier to wear the higher heels, I remember the first time I teetered around in my 4½" silver strappy sandals with red painted toes, the looks were definitely less "huh?" and more "wow!" which feels nice.

Maybe summer outfits are something to do with it too? I still feel a little less confident in the summer because I don't really have the delicate physique to wear skimpy summer outfits, especially tops, but it's easy to wear even dressy sandals with jeans and a light summer shirt. I've worn high sandals and mules with short skirts and bare legs in the summer, but it has to be a hot sunny day so that the look isn't out of place (just a bit unusual that a guy is wearing it).

I was wearing my strappy black suedette heels to a cafe the other day, as I was sipping my coffee I crossed my legs and glanced down at my shoes (as you do of course) and noticed a horrible blotch where the suedette had somehow worn away. So, I wondered how I might repair this, and decided to try with a small strip of self-adhesive felt (like you can get from some art and craft shops in roughly letter-paper sized sheets). It's by no means an invisible repair, but it looks way better than the blotch did. I tried to take quite bright photos to show the damage and repair clearly, but in everyday scenarios unless they're in direct bright lighting the repair isn't too noticeable.

I figure maybe thin strips of this felt sheet in a contrasting colour could be used to add a styling detail to a plain pair of shoes, and I wonder if it could even be used to re-cover an entire pair of shoes, though it would be quite difficult to cut all the pieces to the exact shapes needed.

Having said that, I can show you the boots that I wear most often at this time of year. They are actually the cheapest, gawdawful quality shoes I own, but I've been unable to find anything that comes close to their utility in a higher-quality range.

I guess if you bought an $X00.00 pair of boots you wouldn't want to be kicking them around in snow and ice.

Morsel

I like the first two pairs, sure they're a more rugged style but still nicer than anything from the guys department. I kind of like the third pair too, the colour of the boot the dark stacked heel makes a nice contrast, but I'm not so keen on the black rubber sole at the front, if it was dark brown (and not quite so oversized) it would make all the difference.

I'll stick with my bootcut jeans because that's the look I like, but you're right, straight-leg jeans would be less conspicuous if that's the effect you want, and they do work well with those boots.

You make a valid point about sizing too, but often half-sizes aren't available so and I almost always find that a snug UK7 fits better than a loose UK8, though if the 7's too tight and the 8's are still don't feel right I just won't buy the style. Last summer when I bought some ballet flats they were available in size 7 and 7½ and I tried both on a couple of times before decising to go with the snug 7's and that's proved to be the right decision.

Another time a pair of high wedge courts in a size 7 stretched out surprisingly big, so I ended up using gel inserts and now they're very comfy and a perfect fit. However that was just a one-off, using inserts with size 8's just doesn't work for me as they're the wrong size to begin with (unless they're 8's that fit really small... basically 7's labelled as 8's).

Try the two steps it describes here:

http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/tv/computer/cannot-launch-firefox

Hopefully that'll work for you.

Welcome Robbie, it's great that you enjoy heels and have a supportive spouse. Best wishes to you both, and thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself.

Granite

What's your discomfort? Is it straining your ankles and tendons, or pressure on your toes and the balls of your feet? You must get toilet breaks, even that's an opportunity to stretch a little. If you can go up half a size and use gel inserts under the balls of your feet maybe that would help. What job do you do that keeps you on your feet in heels all day?

I remember my mother coming home and limping for the couch and relief from her pointy high heels.

I remember the first few times I wore my heels to walk around the block, the relief it was to get home and take my heels off. For me there's nothing sexy about being that ucomfortable in heels, they're about looking and feeling good. It's tough if you have to work standing in heels for a long time, but there's nothing brave or cool about enduring it, you should take every chance you get to rest your feet and look after them so you can feel fabulous when you are wearing heels. I don't get any pleasure from seeing a woman uncomfortable in her heels, but I suspect most guys are probably too self-centered to care about that.

If I see a woman with amazing legs I must admit I'm a little envious (ok, a lot), like I wish my legs looked that good, but at the same time I'm happy for her, I wouldn't wish for her not to have those amazing legs, the world's a brighter place for it. In the same way if a woman who sees me wearing heels I'd hope she just thinks "good for him" without feeling spiteful at all. A self-confident woman has no reason to feel jealous, and a more apprehensive woman has every reason to feel inspired rather than jealous. There's no need to see everything so negatively and let it eat you up. Sure there may be some people who live their lives like some kind of TV soap opera with all this jealousy and stealing friends and stuff, but that's their world, nothing to do with me.

I change into flats for walking long distances, but sometimes walking short distances in heels is a relief from standing still. Take any chance you get to discreetly slip your feet out of your heels and flex your ankles and toes a few times, even if it's just for 20 seconds. Also when you get home you should pamper your feet and give them a good rub with moisturising cream - they deserve it!

I agree, age shouldn't deter anyone from enjoying fashion. As a guy who "breaks the rules" by wearing heels and skirts, I hope it inspires others to wear what they like and enjoy looking and feeling fabulous.

Love wearing heels. Anyone have any advice on the most comfortable brand? Thanks

I agree with others that it's a personal thing, you just have to try each pair on and see how they feel. Over time there are some brands that you'll find an affinity for and other brands that you'll tend to avoid. It does vary from style to style and there will be exceptions: my favourite brands occasionally have styles that don't feel comfortable, and a few months ago a brand that I usually avoid had a style that feels very comfortable to wear, so it's always worth trying on anything you like the look of (like we need an excuse to do that!).

They look great xraynt8, I hope you wear them out and about, they would definitely deserve a compliment.